While the NBA lockout starts to reach the “fans are really getting ticked” portion of the program, we have another plea for sanity. It’s likely to fall on deaf ears, but we bring it to you anyway.

Michael H. Goldberg, Executive Director NBA Coaches Association, wrote an open letter to both sides asking for the two sides to resume talks and figure this thing out.

It was published by Sports Illustrated and includes a Joni Mitchell quote (“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…”) so you know he is serious. Here are the highlights.

I’m urging this call for an immediate return to discussions by the parties solely as a veteran of the business of the sport and not as a representative or spokesman of the NBA Coaches or any other constituency. As someone who has “seen it all” in the NBA (and other professional sports), I urge the principals involved in the current labor dispute to immediately back away from the precipice, get back to the bargaining table, and redouble their efforts to resolve the current conflict and get a deal done without delay.

The upcoming NBA season must be saved. To do otherwise will cause a self-inflicted economic blow to an enterprise that over the years through the hard work of players, team owners and the League Office has become a great global brand, but, like every business operating in today’s fragile economic landscape, one that is more susceptible to “decline and fall….”

We all need to concede that the NBA does not operate in a financial bulletproof bubble. After months of discussion, it has become apparent that a solution to the current situation means sacrifice and change. The parties have moved in that direction. Now is not the time to step back and harden positions. Litigation and the “courts” are not the answer – “been there and done that.” Let the parties have the courage to make a deal, even if it requires taking some risks and accepting the unpalatable for the short term, so as to ensure that going forward there will be a viable and robust NBA business, one that is able to withstand the current financial environment and further prosper.

That sounds fair and about right. So, good luck getting anyone to listen to it.